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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26159314">Skip at the Gala</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6'>Emily_F6</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Penny Parker Prompts [12]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Female Peter Parker, Gen, Mentions of Sexual Assault, Penny Parker - Freeform, Peter Parker Whump, Skip Westcott - Freeform, not graphic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 13:02:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,667</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26159314</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Penny freaks out when Skip appears at a party of Tony's.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Parker &amp; Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Penny Parker Prompts [12]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899553</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>543</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Skip at the Gala</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <b>WARNING!!! THIS FIC MENTIONS SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A MINOR!!!</b>
</p><p>
  <span>The black dress had been a gift from Miss Potts, who insisted she call her Pepper. It was ridiculous that this was Penny’s life...being invited to a Stark Industries event with the Avenger as Tony Stark’s intern. Well, to the other guests, she was his intern. To the Avengers, she was Spider-Girl. A little while after the Accords were abolished, the Avengers had painstakingly, slowly come back together. And that had involved Mr. Stark introducing them to the newest non-member of the team. He’d told them that she was back up. An Avenger in training. And, surprisingly, after being surprised and a little upset about how young she was, they’d all been pretty cool.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then Thor and Bruce had come back, the two of them returning on a huge spaceship, Loki in tow, and a lot of Mr. Stark’s time had been dedicated to helping the newly displaced Asgardians find new homes. But he’d still had time to invite her to the company’s New Year’s Eve party, along with the rest of the Avengers. And maybe Loki too...she wasn’t sure what was going on with him. She hadn’t gotten a lot of details about everything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The invitation had been handwritten in beautiful calligraphy on thick, cream-colored stationery, and beside RSVP had been written ‘just call me kid.’ She had to assume that hadn’t been true of all the invitations. Still, she’d called him, excited to attend an actual Avengers party. Like a grown up. She had just celebrated her seventeenth birthday a few months ago, and that, combined with the fact that she was wearing one of the most beautiful dresses she’d ever seen, meant that she had been pretty excited for the party.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Happy arrived at her apartment at nine pm sharp, and May insisted on getting another picture of Penny in the dress, fancy short jacket and high heels also presents from Pepper. ‘Think of it as a late Christmas present’ the woman had urged with a smile, the two of them standing in the department store a few days ago. A silver choker and matching silver earrings had been a gift from Mr. Stark, delivered in a box by Happy the day before, and May had spent almost an hour curling her hair and doing her makeup.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Penny finally looked in the mirror, she felt her cheeks heat up. She looked...fancy. Grown-up. “What if I look stupid?” She asked, glancing back at May in the mirror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Baby, you don’t look stupid.” May murmured, brushing her curly hair back off her single bare shoulder, then holding up the coat so that she could shrug it on. “The invitation said ‘black tie.’ This is black tie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But...what if everyone else…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honey, you look beautiful. You’re dressed exactly right for this party. Hey.” May turned her around, resting her hands on the girl’s shoulder. “Why would Mr. Stark put ‘black tie’ on the invitation, then have Miss Potts pick out that dress for you if it wasn’t appropriate?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Penny wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she just shrugged. May smiled, handing her the small black purse that had her phone, keys, and wallet. Since the part went until midnight, Penny was staying at her room at the Compound, so she didn’t need to pack an overnight bag. Mr. Stark had stocked her room with clothes, most of them Iron Man or Avengers themed, and she had her own bathroom full of toiletries. So all she needed was the little black bag, her jacket, and to make sure her phone was charged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Happy was standing beside the car, a smile turning the corners of his mouth as he held the door open for her. “Thanks, Happy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing, kiddo.” He shut the door behind her, then climbed into the front seat. It was seven o’clock and an hour’s drive, so she curled up in the back seat, careful not to mess up her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who all’s going to be at the party?” She asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Avengers. Some bigwigs from Stark Industries. Some of Tony’s employees, and a couple of his grad-student interns. Well...he doesn’t really supervise them. They mostly report to Pepper or...whoever’s under her in research and development.” Happy shrugged. “A couple of Shield people. That’s about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh is that all?” Penny asked with a smile, crossing her ankles as Happy chuckled. The dress fell to just past her knees, so she would have to be careful when sitting...standing...crouching. Basically any kind of movement. But she knew that after the party she could change into pajamas and she could spend the next day on the sofa watching movies and hanging out with the Avengers. And maybe Loki. Once again, she didn’t know much about him yet. She hadn’t been to the Compound since Thor and Loki had returned, as Mr. Stark split his time between the Compound and the tower.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they arrived at the Compound, Happy once more climbed out of the car before her and opened her door, even offering her a hand up. There were plenty of cars in the lot, and Happy escorted Penny up to the front door of the glass-walled lobby, opening the door for her and ushering her inside where Pepper was waiting for her. “You look beautiful.” She told Penny with a soft smile, brushing some of her hair back. The party had already started, and everyone was standing in groups, drinks in hand, everyone looking just as fancy as she was...even more so, mostly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Stark immediately made his way over, pulling her jacket off and hanging it up on a hook by the door. “What do you think, kid?” He asked, putting an arm around her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s...it’s great, Mr. Stark.” She told him, awed as she looked around the beautiful lobby at the beautiful people.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? Come on, kiddo.” He led her into the room, hand on her back, Pepper melting back into the crowd, and Mr. Stark gestured toward a waiter. “All of the waiters with red trays have virgin drinks.” He plucked a drink off the tray, murmuring a thank you to the man as he handed the red glass to Penny who took a sip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sparkling grape juice?” She asked, and he nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but if you want a sneak a real one at midnight, I won’t tell anyone.” He promised with a grin. It was almost ten-thirty, and Penny sipped her drink as Mr. Stark excused himself to talk to a man in a suit that Penny didn’t know, but she was quickly joined by Natasha who smiled down at her, sipping her own drink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t it past your bedtime?” She asked. Penny rolled her eyes. “Are you staying the night?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Penny smiled. “Mr. Stark and I are going to work in the lab tomorrow.” Natasha and Penny were joined by Steve a few seconds later. “Hi Captain, sir.” Steve chuckled. He was dressed in a fancy suit, hair slicked back, and Penny had to admit, he was really, really handsome. Her cheeks got a little hot and she was glad that he couldn’t read her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just Steve, Penny.” The man assured her, and for a few minutes, the three made small talk, Steve asking about her vacation from school and if she was excited to go back. She asked them if they’d had a good Christmas and how Sargent Barnes was doing. It was comfortable. Normal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Penny felt at home with the Avengers. Well...more at home than she had at first. They were welcoming. Nice. Spending time with them, she felt like she might be a real part of this team someday. The only Avengers she hadn’t really spent time with were Thor and Bruce, although she had seen them in passing. At one point that evening, she saw Doctor Banner talking to Natasha, and she thought about going over to talk to them, but she didn’t want to impose, so she stayed where she was, talking with Rhodey and Sam and Mr. Stark when he stopped by in between networking, always making sure that she had a drink or an appetizer. He’d try to talk with her for a few minutes at a time, then get dragged away by some guy in a suit or one of the interns that were just so excited to meet him. He kept shooting her looks over their shoulders, wide-eyed, exaggerated miserable looks that made her laugh into her drink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>11:30 found her by the food table with Steve, both of them holding drinks, him telling her a story about Bucky from the war. She glanced over at the room when she heard Mr. Stark chuckle at something, and then caught sight of Pepper talking to a guy. She could only see his profile but...he seemed familiar? Had she seen him around the company? Steve trailed off in the middle of his story, a hand on her shoulder startling her. “Penny? Are you okay?” He asked, following her gaze to the man standing beside Pepper...and then the man turned and suddenly she could hear the blood rushing through her body, breath catching. “Penny?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man made eye contact, eyes widening, a slow smile growing on his face. “Penny Parker?” He mouthed, and Pepper followed his gaze to look at her. But Penny couldn’t shake her head or speak or breathe. Her head was light as every bit of blood seemed to drain out of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny?” Steve asked, squeezing her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stumbling back a step, Penny shook her head. “Bathroom.” She whispered, turning on her heels and practically running out of the room. But she couldn’t remember where the bathroom was or how to breathe or where she was she had to get away she had to get away! She walked for what felt like a long time, but couldn't have been more than a few minutes, until she finally stumbled into a wall. Gasping for air, she turned with her back to the wall, sliding down until she was curled up in a ball, head on her knees. She was shaking, teeth chattering, but she wasn’t cold...was she? She stayed there, praying that Mr. Stark would find her until she heard footsteps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re...you’re a child.” The voice wasn’t familiar. Gasping for air, she lifted her face from her knees, mouth open, chest burning as she gasped for air, the sound coming out as loud, desperate wheezes. “You’re a Midgardian child. Why are you on the floor? What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man was dressed in all black, a suit, with his hair combed back and tied into a ponytail. “I...I can’t…” She started to stammer, but the words wouldn’t come.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was here. In the compound! She was supposed to be safe here! “Is Stark aware that you are here?” Loki asked. She nodded. Stark...she needed Mr. Stark!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Brother?” Another man asked, and then Thor was standing there. She’d met Thor once...super quickly. Like...a hello and an introduction and then she’d been on her way to school...but she’d been in her suit. “What...what did you do?” He demanded, looking over at the man in black. Loki. The man in black was Loki. She hadn’t met Loki yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I found this...child on the floor,” Loki told Thor, looking uncomfortable. Time didn’t make sense...how long had she been on the floor? Loki was beside her suddenly, on his knees, but he hadn’t hurt her. Right? Hadn’t touched her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t stand and she couldn’t move and she couldn’t breathe. “Penny? Penny Parker?” That voice...he was here. He was coming to find her. No...not here. He couldn’t hurt her here! Mr. Stark would keep her safe! But...but Mr. Stark was talking to someone and none of the others were around, just Loki and now Thor. “Hey there, kiddo.” She was going to throw up. “Hey, I’m Skip.” She glanced up to find Skip holding out a hand to Thor who he must not have recognized. Or maybe he did...he was an intern? He worked for Stark Industries. How long had he been in this building? How long had he been so close?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thor shook the man’s hand, but Loki remained at her side, looking confused. “Help.” She whispered, barely able to rasp out the word.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.” Loki matched her tone, but she couldn’t say. Not with Skip smiling down at her over Thor’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought she was looking sick...she’s Tony Stark’s intern. Still in high school, but I think she might have snuck a drink or two. You feeling okay, Pen?” Skip asked with a chuckle. Penny grabbed Loki’s hand, gripping it almost too tight, still wheezing for air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s having trouble breathing.” Thor murmured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here. I’ll help her to the living room.” No. No, she couldn’t be alone with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please….sir, please.” She whispered to Loki.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Pen. Let me help you up.” He was reaching for her and she was going to scream but she couldn’t breathe the walls were closing in and...the hand she was gripping tightened, and Loki was staring into her eyes…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she was seven years old, curled up into a ball on her bed as her babysitter, who was the man reaching for her, but ten years younger, took her hand and pulled her closer and pointed to the picture in the magazine there were naked people and she didn’t understand but he was unzipping his pants she didn’t want to she was scared but he was going to hurt her it was going to hurt it hurt!!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gasped when Loki pulled away, dull roaring in her ears as she slumped back against the wall, lips trembling, chest tight. She felt like every bit of energy had been drained as she rested her head against the wall, mouth open as she gasped for air. Loki was pale, eyes still locked on hers, her hand limp in his larger one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Loki? What the hell are you doing? Get away from her!” That was Captain America. Steve was there...he’d protect her too. And Loki, probably...and Thor. They’d protect her. But...she was Spider-Girl! Why did she need to be protected? Why couldn’t she just get up? She was stronger now! Stronger than Skip! She could take him, easy. Right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Brother what did you do?” Thor demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny? Are you okay?” Steve asked. She opened her mouth to answer but could only wheeze for breath, hand gripping Loki’s. “Let go of her, now!” No...Loki had seen! He could do magic and he knew! She locked eyes with him once more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please.” She whispered. Loki gave a sharp nod, jaw tight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Loki!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The child is holding onto me, Rogers!” Loki snapped, whirling around to glare at Steve. “Brother, take this man to another room and do not let him leave. Now.” For a moment, Thor was silent, not understanding. But then he put a firm hand on the man’s shoulder, leading a protesting Skip away. “If you wish for me to help, you’ll need to let go.” Loki told her, voice mild, but not unkind. She did, opening her hand and wrapping her arms around herself, cold at the loss of contact.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Loki stood, moving to stand in front of Rogers. “Get Stark. Bring him here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Friday, get Tony,” Steve ordered, then lowered his voice. “What did you do to her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did not harm the child.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then Steve was crouching in front of her, yanking off his suit coat and wrapping it around her shoulders. “Hey, Penny. Can you tell me what happened?” He asked. She shook her head, breath speeding up as she realized that Mr. Stark would know now. They all would. “Hey, easy, kid. Take it easy. You’re safe here.” She couldn’t take it easy! Tears poured down her cheeks as she dropped her face into her hands. “Penny? What happened? Was it Loki?” She shook her head. Loki had helped her!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rogers, it’s almost midnight. What...Penny? What’s going on?” Mr. Stark’s voice started out mildly irritated and turned serious when he must have caught sight of her. Penny peeked through her fingers and saw Loki move closer to Mr. Stark, voice soft and urgent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The man, Skip Westcott, is someone she knows from when she was a child. The man was her...babysitter? He…”. She pressed her hands over her ears, sobbing, and hesitantly, Steve put a hand on her shoulder. She leaned forward, resting her head on his chest, and he wrapped an arm around her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could hear Loki too. He had enhanced hearing just like her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Stark was silent, the only noise her sobbing. “Does Thor know?” Her mentor asked finally, voice flat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did not tell him, no,” Loki told her mentor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go tell him. Let that...let Skip know that he’s fired.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Stark said something quietly, and she had her hands over her ears, so she didn’t hear. But she did hear him move closer, and Steve pulled away. She didn’t look up, just curled up into a ball and hid her face in her hands, still struggling to breathe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, Spiderling.” It was a nickname Skip had never used...he couldn’t have. He didn’t know. “Let’s get you up to your room. Think you can stand up?” She didn’t respond. If she didn’t respond she wouldn’t have to face it. She wouldn’t have to live in a world where Tony Stark knew all about her worst fear and deepest shame. “Can Steve carry you?” She didn’t even look up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steve scooped her up after a moment and she let her head fall slack on her shoulder. The man carried her into the elevator and then down the hallway and into her bedroom where he placed her on the bed. She stared straight ahead and tried to breathe...she was shaking. Sobbing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Stark knelt in front of her and took one of her feet, carefully unbuckling the straps and slipping the heel off, then taking the other one and doing the same. Steve stood beside the door, arms crossed, glaring down at the floor. Then he was gone and Mr. Stark was sitting on the bed beside her. He didn’t say anything for a while, just put an arm around her and held her close, letting her grip his suit jacket in one too-tight fist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did May and Ben know?” He asked after a while, not moving from where he held her to his chest, her head tucked under his chin. She shook her head, trying to get closer to him. She was suddenly cold. So cold. He reached behind her and pulled the comforter on the end up, wrapping it as best as he could around her shaking body. The dress was pretty and all, but there were no sleeves and why was she so cold? “Friday, turn the heat up in here.” He ordered, rubbing his hand up and down her back. “Do you want to press charges? We can call the police, I’ll make sure he goes to jail. I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t have to testify.” She shook her head again. She didn’t want to deal with it. Ever. She’d managed to push it away for so long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded, still rubbing his hand over the blanket covering her. “Okay. Do you want us to take care of it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was asking more than that...asking if she wanted him to deal with Skip in his own way. She wasn’t sure what exactly that entailed. But he had the Avengers on his side...and she supposed she had them on her side too. That group included two superspies and a god...and Loki. So two gods. Loki had done some pretty bad stuff in the past. She wanted to ask what Mr. Stark meant by ‘take care of it.’ But really, she didn’t want to know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So she nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fri…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, boss.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then there was silence...right before a cheer was heard from the other room. Mr. Stark kept rubbing her back, holding her close. “You want to talk about it?” He asked, voice a murmur. She shivered. Breathing was easier, but she was so tired. Drained, limbs heavy and weak. “It’s okay if you don’t. That’s fine. But...it might help. I won’t tell anyone anything you don’t want me to. I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He….he lived in our building.” She whispered, not sure why she was telling him...not sure why she would say those words out loud. “He only babysat once. Over the summer...and he…” She felt like the word was lodged in her throat and she hid her face in his shirt. “He went to some kind of science camp...and got a job but he was still in the building until he graduated and sometimes I’d see him and…” Her voice broke and she gave up, tears soaking his shirt, Steve’s jacket still around her shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Stark didn’t ask any more questions that night. And she wouldn’t speak to him about it again for another five months when she would burst into his lab after a nightmare at 2am, grabbing at him and practically collapsing, sobbing out the whole story, and the man would wish that he could have take care of Skip Westcott himself instead of leaving it in Loki and Thor’s (very capable) hands. But the next morning, Loki would be the only one to even refer to the evening before, grabbing an apple from the counter where she was eating breakfast, the two of them alone in the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He won’t bother anyone ever again.” Loki would tell her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he would walk away, munching on his apple and disappearing around the corner.</span>
</p>
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